


Life and Death and Love and War

by terrifying_pearl



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crime Fighting, Dad Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Dialogue Heavy, Drama, F/M, Gabe Being an Asshole, Good Dad Jack, Human Genji Shimada, M/M, Multi, One sided, One-Sided Attraction, Possible Character Death, Runaway, Sharing a Bed, To Be Continued, Young Ana Amari, Young Genji Shimada, genji is an angsty fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 02:10:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15233070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terrifying_pearl/pseuds/terrifying_pearl
Summary: Genji can't stay at home, he'll be murdered if he does. But after running away, he's thrown into a world he's never known or experienced. Hunger. Loneliness. And gay cowboys. ...Scratch the last one, actually.





	Life and Death and Love and War

There was only so long he could’ve remained where he was, regardless of anything Sojiro or Hanzo may have said or done to him in an attempt to make him stay. The pressure of having to conform to what the clan wanted was mounting, rising every day. The tension at this point had gotten so thick that Hanzo could’ve used his sword to cut right through it like butter. Genji knew that wasn’t his home any longer, and that he had to leave before any confrontation happened between the three of them. He wasn’t going to put his neck out on the line for them, not anymore.

Still young, Genji knew he still had a future ahead of him outside of Hanamura. Yet with no money, no home, no people on his side - he didn’t know where that future could have been. It was after weeks of living alone, hopping from train to train and sneaking on boats, that he found his first partner and first true friend on this bitch of an Earth.

Admittedly, Genji had hated the man at first. His shaggy brown hair and warm eyes reminded him of the businessmen his father used to deal with. Due to this, Genji turned away and scooted far from the other when the man attempted to speak to him outside of one of the abandoned buildings Genji had been residing in within this particular town. Not for long, of course, but he needed a break from all of the running around, and this building was his current crash site.

“Howdy. You don’t much look like you belong around these parts,” the brown haired man said with a chuckle.

Genji had no patience for him and moved away, eyes on the hovercars that rode on the distant main road.

“Come on now pumpkin, don’t be like that. The name’s McCree, Jesse McCree. I’m here with Overwatch. Can I get you some food or somethin’? You’re thin as a twig.”

The green haired male didn’t respond, he just shivered and rubbed his arms, before one was grabbed by McCree to pull him up. Still, he said nothing, though his body went stiff. He was weak from not eating for a few days, and from the cold - he didn’t try to fight back. But Jesse wasn’t there to hurt him. The man took off his jacket and wrapped it around Genji’s shoulders, leading him away from the dark house and towards the lights of the main road.

“I’m sure Gabe and Jack won’t mind. Though I reckon it might be better for me to hand ya off to Angela first, so she can get you patched up. You’re in need of a spot of healin’.”

McCree might as well have been speaking to a wall. Genji made no real attempt to listen - there were too many bizarre names mentioned in the sentences for him to keep track of, so he didn’t even bother trying. But Jesse seemed content to keep talking, so Genji allowed him to continue without protest.

“I actually was like you just a year or two ago. Yeah. I was wondering alone on Route 66, back in the ol’ US, before Gabe found me. Don’t call ‘im Gabe though, he definitely won’t let you stay if you do that. Ahmm...Hm. Where was I? Oh, right. He found me and first we were gonna fight - I pulled out my gun ‘n everything, almost shot ‘is damn head off,” Jesse said with a laugh. “Yeah, good times. He picked me up by my collar and was ready to toss me off the cliff. Honest to god, I thought he would. But instead he dropped me and walked away. Stopped a few feet away and said, ‘ya got pretty good aim for a kid. With the right trainin’, you could be an asset. Follow or don’t.’ ‘N I guess after that, my pieces just kinda fell into place!”

Jesse patted Genji’s shoulder, grinning a wide grin. “I hope the same happens for you, minus the whole ahm...almost droppin’ off the edge thing. You haven’t shown me any skill or anythin’ yet, but I can see potential in ya! Or maybe I just thought you were pretty. Who knows. What’s your name?”

Genji didn’t reply. Jesse just chuckled. “Well, alright. I’ll just call ya Sparrow for now, how’s that?”

The young man’s eyes widened slightly and he shot daggers at McCree with his eyes. “Do not call me that. Where did you get that name?”

“Ahm, well, on your little scarf there, darlin. It says sparrow on it at the bottom. But I got a few words out of ya, so I’d say it must be a good name.”

That conversation died down fast, with Genji not having much more to say on the topic. The entire way to the location McCree was taking Genji to, McCree continued telling an uninterested Genji stories of his past, and asking questions that would never be answered within that time span. In fact, Genji spoke no more words the entire walk to their destination. Honestly, Genji just had too many thoughts running through his mind to really say anything out loud. Not to mention he had little trust in this individual, though he did think the other was as dumb as a bag of rocks so he didn’t exactly fear him, either. The main thoughts running through his mind were questions about Jesse. 1. Where was he taking him? 2. Why was Jesse so far from the rest of his team to begin with? 3. How did he end up finding Genji? 4. Why did he see potential in Genji?

Though he knew there was little purpose wondering these things when he wasn’t going to ask them out loud, they were still intruding thoughts that he hoped one day he would learn the truth about. For now, he would just roll with the punches and hope he wasn’t killed. However, at this point, Genji wondered if death would really be so bad. And easy escape from this hellhole of a life. Life on the run wasn’t very fun or successful at all, only filled with huger, loneliness, and the strange fear of the death you so deeply crave.

Jesse abruptly stopping in his tracks broke Genji from his thoughts, and he looked up to find an indication of where they were. The language on the sign appeared to be in Spanish, but based on what he could see, Genji assumed they were at some sort of bar. Jesse brought him inside, and the heavy smell of alcohol hitting his nose told Genji that his assumption had been 100% correct. Jesse led him to a table within the bar, where two men and a woman sat. They appeared to be in a heated debate over something, with the woman and one of the men on one side of the argument and the one man by himself. 

“Reyes, you know that isn’t the way to go about things! If we do that, the world will go against us. For now, they trust us to make the right decision. And this just isn’t it,” one man, a blond, stated. 

“Who cares about trust, Morrison?” The other man hissed. “If a few lives are lost for the sake of the greater good, than so be it.”

“That isn’t how Overwatch functions, Gabe, you know this,” The woman spoke, her voice slightly quieter, as though she didn’t really want to get in the middle of the conversation. But that assumption was proven wrong when she stood up and pointed at both of them, speaking louder this time. “Overwatch shouldn’t be torn into two sides like this. There is no compromise, we will not be killing anyone for anyone else’s sake. Overwatch is the world’s protector, not a team of criminals.”

“Ana, we are criminals,” Gabe shouted, also standing. “If we don’t kill him, we will become criminals because we will be letting the world fall to ruin. It was a mistake to ever let you lead Overwatch, Jack. You don’t know how to handle your power.”

“It was a mistake to make you my right hand man, Gabe,” Jack replied, slamming his glass on the table so hard it broke and rising from his seat as well. 

The trio fell silent. Jesse and Genji looked at each other, not speaking a word. What could be said? They heard something they may not have been supposed to hear. They weren’t even noticed yet. The woman, Ana, finally looked over and realized they were there. She gave a warm smile despite the situation, but when her eyes fell on Genji, her smile fell as well.

“And now Jesse has brought…”

“Sparrow,” Jesse spoke up. “That’s not ‘is real name, but I think it fits, doesn’t it? I found him sittin’ by some old church, reckoned I could bring him by. I think he should join Overwatch.”

“Jesse, I don’t think it’s the best time to bring up a new Overwatch member,” Ana moved away from the table and towards the two, reaching out to shake hands with Genji regardless. “I am Ana Amari. What is your name?”

When Genji didn’t speak, Gabriel spoke instead. “She asked you a question, street rat. Answer the woman.”

“Genji Shimada,” he muttered, looking away.

Her eyes widened with pure shock and she swallowed hard, turning to Jack and whispering something in his ear. Jack looked over at Gabe, whose eyes were filled with fury. To quickly quell the situation, Jack said, “Welcome to Overwatch, Genji. We’re happy to have you with us.”

Gabriel was even more infuriated by this, evident by his fists being clenched so hard that his fist was going pale. “Jack. How can you - “

He was cut off by Jack taking his hand and leading him away from the table in a hurry. Ana gave Genji and McCree an apologetic smile and rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Okay. We’ll explain another time. For now, however, you boys can head to the Corazon hotel down the street, we’ll be remaining there for the night. Tomorrow we’ll fly back to HQ in the hovership, but it is under repair for the night so...rest up. Just tell them you’re under Ana Amari, they’ll let you in.”

With a wave, Ana vanished in the direction the two men had gone. Genji and McCree were still left awestruck, but Jesse tried to manage the shock of the situation by changing the topic and leading him out of the building. “So, Genji, huh, pumpkin? That’s a funny name.”

“How is it funny?” Genji scowled, eyes narrowing. 

“I just never heard nothin’ like that before. Where are you from?”

“Hanamura District, in Japan.”

“Japan...I’ve always wanted to go there.”

That conversation died down, with both men still having their minds on the situation that had unfolded before them just a few minutes before. But as they walked to the hotel, Genji pulled McCree’s jacket tighter around him, eyes on the ground as he was led by McCree. His mind was so far gone. Really, he hadn’t even stated if he wanted to join Overwatch or not, but now he was just a very impromptu member. Despite how suddenly they had accepted him, something still felt very off. None of them seemed especially happy to have him join them. Why had Gabriel been so angry? Why was everything a secret? Who did Gabe want to kill?

These thoughts lingered even in the hotel room he and Jesse were forced to share. It definitely wasn’t Genji’s first choice to be sleeping in the same bed as Jesse, but it was a lot better than sleeping in a cold, abandoned church on a dusty pew. A soft bed and warmth radiating around him was a lot better, certainly.

During the night, Jesse’s arms made their way around Genji’s small frame, much to the young man’s surprise. Jesse was asleep and didn’t notice. Genji simply cuddled into the heat and allowed his mind to drift off, falling asleep despite the circumstances. What would tomorrow bring? What would Overwatch bring? And why did his name cause such a stir?

He’d find out.


End file.
